STALLWORTH: Worship is not a popularity contest

Some things in life should never be available for purchase or trade, such as one’s honor or integrity. These are priceless elements that comprise one’s personal character.

Another element I would characterize as not for sale would be one’s religion. It should be a sanctity that’s protected and preserved as holy – separate and apart from the world. However, I sadly observe that virtually anything is for sale these days, especially religion.

Whenever I happen upon a rather popular religious television program called “Sunday Best,” I cringe in disgust. Initially, I did not understand why I didn’t like the program; however, I quickly realized it irritates me because it’s indicative of the rampant and prevalent exploitation of God’s kingdom.

Because this is a popular program, many people will not necessarily agree or even understand my perspective. Most fans will view the show’s intent and content as harmless and fun entertainment that tends to glorify God.

Others may understand and agree with my opinion that worshipping God should never include a form of competition where people are pitted against each other and vie for the top spotlight as the so-called best.

Striving to win a coveted spotlight, where the winner will be admired and adorned by fans, is a form of idolatry, which happens to be a work of the flesh listed in Galatians 5:19-21.

In the secular world, which the Bible says believers should not conform to the ways thereof, singing competitions even blatantly bear “idolatry” in their name, such as “The American Idol.”

Furthermore, I believe a similar show like “Sunday Best” is wrong because there is not one Bible scripture that supports liturgical competition or exemplifies an example of it. On the contrary, John 4:24 says, “God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” This means true worship should be centered on spiritual accordance with harmonious indulgence of God’s truth – not subtle lies.

One subtle lie that is tacitly indulged in gospel singing competitions is that the person singing is deservedly the “direct object.” In true worship, the direct object, which is defined in speech as a person or thing that is the recipient of the action of a transitive verb, should always be God, not a person.

I am always amazed how people sitting quietly in church suddenly become jubilant whenever the preacher makes them the direct object by declaring how God is going to bless them. Many televangelists use this deceitful form of prosperity-preaching, also called “scratching itching ears,” to pack auditoriums with people who, in turn, pack the televangelists’ pockets with profits.

When people are in competition with each other, many other biblical works of the flesh, such as hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, and envy become evident. Someone will argue that “Sunday Best” is not meant to be worship but entertainment. This is precisely my point! A form of worshipping God should never be a popularity contest for simple amusement.

Why would people knowingly exploit and prostitute God’s holiness for the sake of being entertained or to win popularity? The reason is the love of money, which is the root of all evil.